dispatches from the new world of work

Showtime!

My Brand You mantra includes the necessity to realize you are always on stage. Hence I loved this headline from Time (04.16.07): "Acting Like a President: Most politicians who make it to the White House have also become masters of the art of performing."

Reminds me of a favorite quote I often use in my presentations:

"It's always Showtime."—David D'Alessandro, Career Warfare

Tom Peters posted this on 04/11/07.

Comments

Tom:

In the late 80's you put out a desk calendar. In it, there was a quote along the lines of "All leadership is show business..." The rest of it dealt with it not being about phoniness but about projecting enthusiasm. I believe you were the source of the quote.

Anyone there still have access to the full quote?

Thanks,

Tony

Posted by Tony Paulson at April 11, 2007 12:58 PM

Don't forget Irving Berlin!!! "There's no business like show business."

Posted by Andrew at April 13, 2007 9:13 AM

It is very easy to confuse performance with inauthenticity - with lying, if you like.

In fact, they are very far apart. Great actors never lie, and rarely pretend. They "reveal". Sir Anthony Hopkins is no dissembler, he makes things visible. Shakespeare always lets his characters tell the truth - to the audience at least.

Yes, we are on stage all the time. But it is ourselves that we must be showing there - spotlighting some aspects, revealing others, projecting our voice more than usual - but never pretending to be other than we are.

Cheers

Adam Lawrence
Actor and Experience Designer
workplayexperience.blogspot.com

Posted by Adam Lawrence at April 16, 2007 10:00 AM